Best Place for Pretending You Live in the Shire

October 19, 2016

This hidden gem carries a healthy list of wines (nearly all offered by the glass), simple but satisfying gastropub dishes made in sight of patrons, and a fireplace big enough to cast a restaurant-wide glow in the winter months. The cozy darkness and earthy fare combine to feel very Middle-earth, in the best possible way. In fact, inspiration comes from locales like Stowe, Vermont; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and the Pennsylvania farmland where owner Tyler Maganzini’s wife, Regina Myers, grew up. Many of the bars’ knickknacks are said to hail from Regina’s parents’ farmhouse, though the Adirondack chairs on the spacious front porch are arguably the most commanding of the bar’s woodsy set pieces. Not two blocks from the bustle of Smith Street, it feels worlds apart.